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Lulu Retail to join FTSE Global Equity Index Series
Lulu Retail to join FTSE Global Equity Index Series

Zawya

time28-05-2025

  • Business
  • Zawya

Lulu Retail to join FTSE Global Equity Index Series

Abu Dhabi: Lulu Retail Company has been selected for inclusion in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (FTSE GEIS), following the latest review by FTSE Russell. The inclusion is expected to be from 23 June 2025 and is subject to any revisions by FTSE until 6 June, according to a press release. Lulu will be added to FTSE Mid Cap, FTSE All-World, FTSE All-Cap, and FTSE Total-Cap indices, key benchmarks for global institutional investors. This will boost the company's position and broaden engagement with international investors. Lulu's addition to the FTSE GEIS follows its initial public offering (IPO) in the fourth quarter (Q4) in 2024, which attracted strong demand from local, regional and international investors. Saifee Rupawala, CEO of Lulu, commented: 'Our inclusion in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series is a landmark achievement and underscores the strength of our retail model, operational scale, and the trust investors have placed in our vision.' Rupawala stated: 'It enhances our visibility on the global stage and opens new avenues for engagement with long-term international capital.' 'As we continue to grow, our priority remains driving operational excellence, deepening customer loyalty, and unlocking new opportunities across our markets,' he added. Last April, the Endowment and Minors Trust Foundation (Awqaf Dubai) partnered with Lulu Retail to establish new hypermarkets and supermarkets across Dubai.

Lulu Retail to join FTSE Global Equity Index Series
Lulu Retail to join FTSE Global Equity Index Series

Al Etihad

time27-05-2025

  • Business
  • Al Etihad

Lulu Retail to join FTSE Global Equity Index Series

27 May 2025 14:04 A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)Lulu Retail Holdings, the region's largest full-line retailer, has been selected for inclusion in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (FTSE GEIS), a key global benchmark developed by FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange inclusion will take effect from June 23, 2025, subject to final confirmation by June 6, a statement from the company move comes after Lulu's successful initial public offering (IPO) in Q4 2024, which attracted robust demand from local, regional, and international was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) at Dh2.04, and the stock is now trading at around Dh1.35. Despite the fall in price, the scrip enjoys high liquidity in the market cap stands at Dh13.94 billion, according to the latest ADX will be included in several prominent indices under the FTSE GEIS umbrella, namely the FTSE Mid Cap, FTSE All-World, FTSE All-Cap, and FTSE Total-Cap indices, the statement said. These indices are widely tracked by institutional investors globally and serve as essential tools for benchmarking equity performance and allocating FTSE Global Equity Index Series offers a comprehensive representation of global equity markets by covering companies across 49 developed and emerging markets. The indices are structured to include companies by market capitalisation tier—ranging from large-cap to micro-cap—and are reviewed quarterly to ensure they reflect current market conditions. Index constituents are determined based on factors such as market capitalisation, liquidity, and free in an FTSE GEIS index is often seen as a milestone for listed companies, as it enhances global visibility and can drive increased capital inflows from passive and active funds benchmarked to these on the announcement, Saifee Rupawala, CEO of Lulu Retail, said, "Our inclusion in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series is a landmark achievement and underscores the strength of our retail model, operational scale, and the trust investors have placed in our vision. It enhances our visibility on the global stage and opens new avenues for engagement with long-term international capital." Founded in 1974, Lulu Retail operates 255 stores across all six GCC countries, including hypermarkets, express stores, and mini-markets. The company also has a growing digital presence through mobile and online platforms. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi

LOT strengthens its footprint in Sharjah with new flagship store at LuLu Hypermarket
LOT strengthens its footprint in Sharjah with new flagship store at LuLu Hypermarket

Khaleej Times

time23-05-2025

  • Business
  • Khaleej Times

LOT strengthens its footprint in Sharjah with new flagship store at LuLu Hypermarket

LuLu's value concept store, LOT, has strengthened its footprint in the UAE with the launch of its newest and largest branch in Sharjah at LuLu Hypermarket, Al Wahda Street. This strategic expansion underscores LOT's mission to make high quality products affordable and accessible to a wider customer base. Yusuffali MA, chairman of LuLu Group, inaugurated the new LOT store in the presence senior officials from Lulu. The new 47,000 sqft outlet marks LOT's 14th store in the GCC and the 7th in the UAE, making it the biggest LOT to date. "This expansion is part of our vision to provide customers with quality products at budget-friendly prices. Our growth in Sharjah reflects the increasing demand for value-driven shopping experiences. We are on a track to operate 50 LOT stores by 2025," said Yusuffali MA. The LOT offers a lot of products at unbeatable prices, with many items priced below Dh19. This new initiative ensures that everyone can access high-quality products, including household essentials, kitchenware, fashion for men, women, and children, and more. The occasion was graced by the presence of Saifee Rupawala, CEO of LuLu; Salim M A and Shabu Abdul Majeed, directors of global operations; Anand A V, director of LuLu International Holdings; Mujeeb Rehman, director of Buying; along with several other dignitaries.

Lulu Retail reports $2.1 billion Q1 revenue
Lulu Retail reports $2.1 billion Q1 revenue

Observer

time17-05-2025

  • Business
  • Observer

Lulu Retail reports $2.1 billion Q1 revenue

MUSCAT: Lulu Retail Holdings PLC ('Lulu' or the 'Company'), the largest and fastest growing pan GCC full line retailer, announced its financial results for the three-month period ended March 31,2025 ('Q1 2025'). KEY HIGHLIGHTS: • Q1 2025 revenue of $2.1 billion, up 7.3% YoY, with like-for-like sales up 3.6% YoY driven by strong sales during Ramadan period and volume growth in certain product categories • EBITDA of $214.1 million, up 6.4% YoY, with EBITDA margin of 10.3%, stable vs. Q1 2024 • Net profit of $69.7m, up 15.8% YoY, with net profit margin of 3.4%, up 25bps vs. Q1 2024 • Good strategic progress with five new stores opened in Q1 2025 including in Makkah and Madinah with the target for 20 new stores in 2025 unchanged • E-commerce sales grew strongly, up 25.3% YoY to $93.4 million; now 4.7% of retail revenue • Strong growth in revenue from Private Label products, up 9.5% YoY; 29.3% of retail revenue • Happiness loyalty program members reached c.6.3 million in Q1 vs. c.5.5 million in FY24; linked to 65% of sales Saifee Rupawala, Chief Executive Officer of Lulu, commented: 'We are pleased to have demonstrated good growth in the first quarter of this year, with revenue up 7.3% YoY. This was underpinned by a combination of like-for-like sales growth, supported by strong trading during the Ramadhan period, and our store rollout programme, which remains well on track with five stores opened in the quarter, in line with our plan to rollout a total of 20 stores in 2025. The first quarter also saw Lulu make good progress on delivering on our overall growth strategy, supported by robust sales in Private Label and e-commerce, which remain key components of our strategy.' 'Looking ahead, we expect our growth momentum to continue as we remain focused on several initiatives under each of our four key pillars, including driving growth in existing store network, opening new stores, driving operational efficiencies and delivering further upside through our private label and e-commerce offerings. Overall, we are pleased with the performance in the first quarter, marking a good start to 2025, and we look forward to continuing to deliver on our strategy throughout the rest of the year.' FINANCIAL SUMMARY Revenue grew a healthy 7.3% YoY to $2.1 billion in Q1 2025 driven by LFL sales growth of 3.6%, supported by strong trading during the Ramadan period. The good revenue performance was also driven by new store openings and high-volume growth across certain product categories, particularly in fresh food and lifestyle products. • Fresh food category revenue grew 7.9% YoY in the first quarter, driven by the Ramadan period, improved consumption trends. • Electrical goods category witnessed revenue growth of 29.0% YoY, mainly due to an increase in sales across higher value items. • Lifestyle products grew 6.9% YoY despite pressure as customers opted for more value products. • Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sales grew steadily at 1.4% YoY, with the sales increase mainly driven by strong volume growth, which was partly offset by some pricing pressure as a result of promotional campaigns. • E-commerce remains an important component of Lulu's growth strategy, with sales +25.3% YoY and customer count +26.1% YoY. Segment revenue performance driven by growth across all markets Lulu delivered revenue growth across all segments in Q1 2025, with particularly strong performances in KSA and Oman. • The UAE, Lulu's largest market, recorded a mid-single digit revenue increase of 5.2% YoY, led by particularly strong performance in the fresh food segment, which grew 15.6% YoY. This was further supported by strong e-commerce sales in the UAE which saw robust growth, rising 40.1% YoY, supported by an increase in sales through aggregators. • In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, revenue rose by 10.3% YoY, primarily driven by new store openings in last 12 months and strong LFL growth. Other key markets also delivered solid results in Q1 2025, with revenue in Oman increasing 7.8% YoY as a result of strong growth in the electrical goods product category, Qatar up 6.7% YoY following a good trading period during festive season, and Kuwait up 4.8% YoY, with supermarket sales contributing c.50% of overall growth in the region, further supported by a strong uptick in e-commerce sales. Profitability margins supported by cost efficiencies amidst promotional activity Gross profit increased 4.0% YoY to $464.5 million, with gross margins reaching 22.3% in the period, down 70 basis points compared to the prior year. This margin reduction was mainly due to promotional campaigns to drive higher footfall into Lulu stores during the festive period. EBITDA grew 6.4% YoY to $214.1 million, supported by improved operational cost efficiencies, which helped offset the lower gross margin. As a result, Q1 2025 EBITDA margin remained broadly stable at 10.3% compared to 10.4% in Q1 2024. On a post-lease expense basis, EBITDA margin improved by approximately 8 bps, reflecting Lulu's continued operational discipline. Net profit increased by 15.8% to $69.7 million, with net profit margins improving by 25 basis points as a result of stronger EBIT margin and lower interest expense, despite higher taxes in the period. Robust balance sheet During the quarter, net debt decreased to $2.3 billion, with net debt/EBITDA improved from 3.2x in December 2024 to 2.9x at the end of Q1 2025. Excluding lease liabilities, leverage improved from 1.3x to 0.9x over the same period. Strategic progress Lulu continues to make good progress on delivering on its growth strategy, having rolled out five new stores in the period, delivered good LFL growth within its existing stores and also benefitting from further upside opportunities across Private Label and e-commerce sales. During Q1 2025, Lulu opened two hypermarkets and three express stores, adding 22,339 sqm of retail space in the period, with the Company's total retail space up 2% to 1.34 million sqm, as at the end of Q1 2025. Within this, Lulu was pleased to open a 10k+ sqm hypermarket in Makkah and an express store in Madinah, two uniquely located stores with high footfall given the proximity to religious landmark cities in KSA. In addition to the two stores in KSA, Lulu also opened two express stores in the UAE, alongside a Hypermarket in Bahrain. Lulu remains on track with its store roll out plans, with the Company expending to open a total of 20 stores in 2025, with the remaining 15 stores expected to open over the course of the year. Lulu is also pleased to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Endowment and Minors Trust Foundation (Awqaf Dubai) for the development of a group of retail stores as part of Dubai's endowment projects. Under the partnership, Lulu will collaborate with Awqaf Dubai on upcoming community projects to develop shopping facilities that will better serve and enhance the retail experience of residents and visitors, while also contributing to Awqaf's broader social and economic objectives. Following the successful roll out of its loyalty program across all regions in 2024, Lulu's Happiness Loyalty programme continues to see good momentum in new members, having added c.904k new members in Q1 2025. Lulu now has a total of c.6.3 million loyalty members enrolled onto the program compared to the c.5.5 million at the end of 2024, with the loyalty program linked to c.65% of sales.

Lulu Retail reports Q1 2025 revenue of $2.1 billion, up 7.3% year-on-year
Lulu Retail reports Q1 2025 revenue of $2.1 billion, up 7.3% year-on-year

time15-05-2025

  • Business

Lulu Retail reports Q1 2025 revenue of $2.1 billion, up 7.3% year-on-year

Continued progress on growth strategy, opened five new stores Abu Dhabi, UAE – Lulu Retail Holdings PLC ('Lulu' or the 'Company'), the largest and fastest growing pan GCC full line retailer, today announced its financial results for the three-month period ended 31 March 2025 ('Q1 2025'). Key highlights Q1 2025 revenue of $2.1 billion, up 7.3% YoY, with like-for-like sales up 3.6% YoY driven by strong sales during Ramadan period and volume growth in certain product categories EBITDA of $214.1 million, up 6.4% YoY, with EBITDA margin of 10.3%, stable vs. Q1 2024 Net profit of $69.7m, up 15.8% YoY, with net profit margin of 3.4%, up 25bps vs. Q1 2024 Good strategic progress with five new stores opened in Q1 2025 including in Makkah and Madinah with the target for 20 new stores in 2025 unchanged E-commerce sales grew strongly, up 25.3% YoY to $93.4 million; now 4.7% of retail revenue Strong growth in revenue from Private Label products, up 9.5% YoY; 29.3% of retail revenue Happiness loyalty program members reached c.6.3 million in Q1 vs. c.5.5 million in FY24; linked to 65% of sales Saifee Rupawala, Chief Executive Officer of Lulu, commented: 'We are pleased to have demonstrated good growth in the first quarter of this year, with revenue up 7.3% YoY. This was underpinned by a combination of like-for-like sales growth, supported by strong trading during the Ramadan period, and our store rollout programme, which remains well on track with five stores opened in the quarter, in line with our plan to rollout a total of 20 stores in 2025. The first quarter also saw Lulu make good progress on delivering on our overall growth strategy, supported by robust sales in Private Label and e-commerce, which remain key components of our strategy.' 'Looking ahead, we expect our growth momentum to continue as we remain focused on several initiatives under each of our four key pillars, including driving growth in existing store network, opening new stores, driving operational efficiencies and delivering further upside through our private label and e-commerce offerings. Overall, we are pleased with the performance in the first quarter, marking a good start to 2025, and we look forward to continuing to deliver on our strategy throughout the rest of the year.' Financial summary Revenue performance driven by LFL sales and new store expansion Revenue grew a healthy 7.3% YoY to $2.1 billion in Q1 2025 driven by LFL sales growth of 3.6%, supported by strong trading during the Ramadan period. The good revenue performance was also driven by new store openings and high-volume growth across certain product categories, particularly in fresh food and lifestyle products. Fresh food category revenue grew 7.9% YoY in the first quarter, driven by the Ramadan period, improved consumption trends. Electrical goods category witnessed revenue growth of 29.0% YoY, mainly due to an increase in sales across higher value items. Lifestyle products grew 6.9% YoY despite pressure as customers opted for more value products. Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sales grew steadily at 1.4% YoY, with the sales increase mainly driven by strong volume growth, which was partly offset by some pricing pressure as a result of promotional campaigns. E-commerce remains an important component of Lulu's growth strategy, with sales +25.3% YoY and customer count +26.1% YoY. Segment revenue performance driven by growth across all markets Lulu delivered revenue growth across all segments in Q1 2025, with particularly strong performances in KSA and Oman. The UAE, Lulu's largest market, recorded a mid-single digit revenue increase of 5.2% YoY, led by particularly strong performance in the fresh food segment, which grew 15.6% YoY. This was further supported by strong e-commerce sales in the UAE which saw robust growth, rising 40.1% YoY, supported by an increase in sales through aggregators. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, revenue rose by 10.3% YoY, primarily driven by new store openings in last 12 months and strong LFL growth. Other key markets also delivered solid results in Q1 2025, with revenue in Oman increasing 7.8% YoY as a result of strong growth in the electrical goods product category, Qatar up 6.7% YoY following a good trading period during festive season, and Kuwait up 4.8% YoY, with supermarket sales contributing c.50% of overall growth in the region, further supported by a strong uptick in e-commerce sales. Profitability margins supported by cost efficiencies amidst promotional activity Gross profit increased 4.0% YoY to $464.5 million, with gross margins reaching 22.3% in the period, down 70 basis points compared to the prior year. This margin reduction was mainly due to promotional campaigns to drive higher footfall into Lulu stores during the festive period. EBITDA grew 6.4% YoY to $214.1 million, supported by improved operational cost efficiencies, which helped offset the lower gross margin. As a result, Q1 2025 EBITDA margin remained broadly stable at 10.3% compared to 10.4% in Q1 2024. On a post-lease expense basis, EBITDA margin improved by approximately 8 bps, reflecting Lulu's continued operational discipline. Net profit increased by 15.8% to $69.7 million, with net profit margins improving by 25 basis points as a result of stronger EBIT margin and lower interest expense, despite higher taxes in the period. Robust balance sheet During the quarter, net debt decreased to $2.3 billion, with net debt/EBITDA improved from 3.2x in December 2024 to 2.9x at the end of Q1 2025. Excluding lease liabilities, leverage improved from 1.3x to 0.9x over the same period. Strategic progress Lulu continues to make good progress on delivering on its growth strategy, having rolled out five new stores in the period, delivered good LFL growth within its existing stores and also benefitting from further upside opportunities across Private Label and e-commerce sales. During Q1 2025, Lulu opened two hypermarkets and three express stores, adding 22,339 sqm of retail space in the period, with the Company's total retail space up 2% to 1.34 million sqm, as at the end of Q1 2025. Within this, Lulu was pleased to open a 10k+ sqm hypermarket in Makkah and an express store in Madinah, two uniquely located stores with high footfall given the proximity to religious landmark cities in KSA. In addition to the two stores in KSA, Lulu also opened two express stores in the UAE, alongside a Hypermarket in Bahrain. Lulu remains on track with its store roll out plans, with the Company expending to open a total of 20 stores in 2025, with the remaining 15 stores expected to open over the course of the year. Lulu is also pleased to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Endowment and Minors Trust Foundation (Awqaf Dubai) for the development of a group of retail stores as part of Dubai's endowment projects. Under the partnership, Lulu will collaborate with Awqaf Dubai on upcoming community projects to develop shopping facilities that will better serve and enhance the retail experience of residents and visitors, while also contributing to Awqaf's broader social and economic objectives. Following the successful roll out of its loyalty program across all regions in 2024, Lulu's Happiness Loyalty programme continues to see good momentum in new members, having added c.904k new members in Q1 2025. Lulu now has a total of c.6.3 million loyalty members enrolled onto the program compared to the c.5.5 million at the end of 2024, with the loyalty program linked to c.65% of sales.

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